Christmas, it's finally here!

Finally, the Christmas blog you've all been waiting for! Well, at least my kids have been. They keep bugging me to do it, but my Photoshop program stopped working and our kitchen remodel has been consuming all my time. So I put it on my to do list and edited the pictures on Lightroom (which I don't use nearly as much). I had a really hard time getting ready for Christmas this year, since I was so distracted dealing with insurance adjusters and choosing cabinets and submitting food receipts. But I just had to put everything on hold and focus all my attention on Christmas. It all worked out.

Our kitchen appliances were delivered the day before Christmas. The little kids turned one of the big boxes into a waiting room for Christmas morning. That kept them nice and busy all day Christmas Eve, decorating it and filling it with a lamp, blankets and toys.  

 You're never too old to be excited about Christmas morning!

New big wheels for Levi and a 3D pen for Tyler.

Dallin is notorious for not giving Santa any ideas or waiting until the last minute before submitting a short list. He was thrilled with his new camera! Good job, Santa.

Spencer loves his acoustic/electric bass guitar. 

 Elsa/Anna dolls and bunk beds for Chloe.

The kids picked names to give each other gifts, as usual. Tyler had Levi, and he made him a spy kit. Levi wants to be a secret agent when he grows up. Tyler spent hours gathering spy things and cutting styrofoam for them to fit in.

It was Levi's favorite gift!

Spencer had Chloe, and he bought her a bunny! Don't worry, he had our permission. His name is Gus Gus, and he's a New Zealand Steel. He's mostly black with silver on his feet and tummy.

 There's no question, this was Chloe's favorite present!

 Brennan loves his propeller beanie!

These are the best cap guns ever! They're heavy and intricate and made in Spain. I found them on Ebay. I was going to get some on Amazon, but they aren't allowed to sell them in California. Seriously?!

You know it's going to be a great gift when it comes in a Crate & Barrel box! 

Cute pitcher! 

 It was a great Christmas!

Countdown to Christmas

The month of December is always busy but fun. I had to totally put the house restoration on the back burner while we focused on Christmas. Both take a lot of focus, and I couldn't do both. I took Levi and Chloe to see Santa at our gym one Saturday while Dave and the older boys helped my nephew with his eagle project. The gym also had a craft fair and table of free crafts for kids. 

Chloe was so excited to see Santa until she actually saw him in person. No, thank you. Not even for a candy cane.

Our boys were asked to do a few special musical numbers for the church Christmas party as well as Christmas day. Spencer and Tyler did a duet on the marching trombone/trumpet, Spencer and Tyler did a saxophone/bass guitar duet, and Spencer and Tyler did a bassoon/violin duet sacrament meeting on Christmas day. I love hearing them play! Plus Spencer sang in the Sing Noel concert and I sang in small choirs for the church party and Christmas day. Christmas music is the best.

Volunteers got to help play the bells at the Christmas party. Such concentration, Levi!

Chloe managed to work up enough courage to sit on Santa's lap at the Christmas party. Maybe it helped to see so many other kids do it unscathed. She told him her age and that she wanted a candy cane for Christmas. Way to go, Chloe!

Kate was fine sitting on Santa's lap. 

Levi asked for spy gear. Tyler had him for Christmas this year, and he made him a really cool spy kit.

These boys are big, but they still wanted to see Santa! 

I told the kids I couldn't do any holiday baking this year, which was sad for everyone. My kitchen was all torn up, and I didn't even have an oven. But Spencer was determined to give his teachers our famous truffles, so he made them himself! He made 3 batches (almond, strawberry and mint), and they were delicious! 

I decided we could make fudge too, since that doesn't require baking. It was a little crowded around our little camping table, but we managed!

My glass pans were packed away, so I put it in one big pan - almonds on one side and mini marshmallows on the other. Yum!

We had several Christmas concerts to attend this year: Dallin's band concert,

Spencer's choir concert,

 and Spencer and Tyler's jazz/concert band concerts. That's always such an enjoyable evening!

Don't they look dapper in their new suits? We weren't thrilled about having to pay for 2 tuxes right before Christmas, but we plan on having them a long time and passing them down. 

Then on Christmas Eve we got an early present: a new fridge! We bought all our new appliances after Thanksgiving when they were having their big sales, and we got the new fridge installed right away because our old one was falling apart. We also decided we were done living in total kitchen chaos, so we got rid of one of the big cabinets sitting in the middle of the kitchen, rearranged the remaining cabinets, put the drawers away and put makeshift counters on top. The difference is night and day! Plus the kids got to play with the big boxes all day. They made a "Christmas waiting room" to hang out in when they woke up the next morning.